1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing devices and image processing servers that save processed image data as processing history information.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally there are image processing devices such as scanner devices and printers that carry out predetermined image processing on image data and store the processed image data as processing history information. Furthermore, there are image processing servers that are connected to such image processing devices via a network that store the image data sent from the image processing device as processing history information.
It should be noted that the processing history information is stored for such purposes as totalizing usage conditions of consumables and monitoring whether the image processing device is being used for private purposes. That is, if monitoring is not conducted as to whether an image processing device for official purposes such as an office image processing device is being used for the private purposes of individuals, there is a problem in that consumables such as toner and paper, which have been purchased for official purposes, may be being used wastefully. Accordingly, an administrator determines whether or not there is private purpose usage by checking the image data of the image processing device.
In conventional image processing devices and image processing servers such as these, highly confidential data may be present in the image data that is processed. For this reason, an image processing device has been proposed in which access restrictions are carried out for viewing the processing history information (see JP 2005-20062A).
In this image processing device, authority is granted to view the image data to a person of higher authority than a user who processed the image data.
However, with the image processing device described in JP 2005-20062A, there is a problem in that when the image data is highly confidential, the image data cannot be referenced except by a person of higher authority, and therefore a person without authority, even an administrator for example, cannot distinguish the type of image data and cannot carry out management based on document formats (for example, formats such as reports, weekly bulletins, and the like) as to whether the image data is being used for private purposes.